#chronicpainwarrior

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💪 💚 WOMEN’S HEALTH POST 💚💪 Stepping Up for AWARENESS. In this video I show you the Mona Lisa Touch laser treatment. Research shows that about 1 in 3 women experience what’s known as a pelvic floor disorder in their lifetime — a term refers to a range of conditions. I’ve heard talk that this percentage is growing, no the fact is women are SPEAKING OPENING about it & the medical community is FINALLY getting it! My mom when spoke about pelvic pain, painful sex, & PMS to her doctors when she was in her 20s into her 30s numerous doctors told her she needed to speak to a therapist. That was until she met Dr. Noel Williams @optimalhealthassociates who acknowledge that pelvic pain was REAL & not some “hysterical woman issue”. About 20 years later I too began suffering from pelvic pain. I was told by a couple doctors that the severe pain was due to constipation, an infection, that nothing was showing up on the exams. I was very well on my way to being told to see a therapist. Thankfully Dr. Williams office got me into to see him (despite his busy schedule -there are days he sees 40+ patients). Turned out my pelvic pain was due to endometriosis, ovarian cysts, twisted ovarian tubes & later to discover I had Interstitial Cystitis, painful bladder syndrome. All this discovered by Dr. Williams. With my IC I’ve had to deal with terrible contracting pain and spasms up & down through my vagina & bladder. Yesterday I spoke about going in for my fourth Mona Lisa Touch treatment. An amazing & innovating treatment using laser technology to regenerate & rejuvenate the vaginal tissue. I knew going in for my fourth treatment that I had to document it & share it despite the fact it’s a very personal treatment. So personal lol but I couldn’t forget all the messages & emails I have received in the past from fellow IC & Pelvic Pain Warriors who wanted to know more about this specific treatment. The video shows 60 secs, the full 3 minute video can found on my blog taylormunholland.com. I once asked Dr. Williams why some doctors still don’t believe in these pelvic pain conditions, like PMS so many still don’t believe it’s real. He simply said “They’re f*%*ing idiots” ✊️#WOMENSHEALTH

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As much as I wish I was that girlOn the left lately, the reality is I am the girl on the right; No filter, no edits, no touch ups. I didn’t for one second want anyone to feel the delusion that yesterday’s picture was my normal currently. I’m self conscious as hell, I’ve gained weight from bed rest, and there’s not much I like when I look in the mirror. And as much as I wanted to show the truth about my body, I was still subconsciously sucking my belly in and struggled to find a photo I “liked” enough. But this IS my normal right now, THIS is my body; and even though I sometimes look at it with sadness in my heart from seeing my scarred up body and self pity floods in my thoughts. This time around I’m working on changing my thought process, when these thoughts begin I tell myself; this body... this body has fought WARS... and each one has made me who I am today. ..@shethinx Scarlet red

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I’ve officially graduated PT and am allowed back in the gym! 💪🏼 Per my PT’s orders, Sheila comes with me every time for safety. Exercise is a huge tool to manage both my POTS and EDS: exercising helps my body circulate blood so my BP doesn’t tank and building muscle helps stabilize my joints 🏃🏼‍♀️ Sometimes I get discouraged because I want to push myself further, lift heavier, do more - all the things I did before I became acutely ill. But there’s a point at which exercise becomes detrimental to my health. I have to take it slow and appreciate every bit of progress as a win 🏅 It’s a constant reminder that happiness is out there - you just have to CHOOSE to search for it. Slowly but surely, I will make this body stronger so it can keep fighting 👊🏼 #choosehappiness#babewithamobilityaid

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Okay so the beginning of 2018 will be starting with more major spinal surgery! 😪As most of you know I had a spinal op in 2014 & have been battling with sever chronic pain for the last 6 years. Basically I have a condition called degenerative disc disease (DDD) so I pretty much have an 80yr old spine at the age of 25. My back is deteriorating verrry very fast and I’m in need of another verrryyy expensive major spinal operation. My lower vertebrae’s are now bone on bone, grinding away & has been chipped away. My discs have collapsed, herniated & bulged. So a lot is going on but something has to change as I cannot keep living like this or in this amount of pain everyday.I have found a great surgeon I connect with who is ready, willing & able to operate & help give me my life back which we booked in last week for February 2018. As my parents have already spent 10’s of thousands of dollars on surgeries, rehab etc etc, the funds are the only thing standing in my way of me regaining my functional/working life back! There is nothing I can do to contribute as I haven’t been able to work in 5 years as It’s been very disabling.My family & I would be soo incredibly grateful if you could help us in raising some money for my life changing surgery as well as sharing the link to your friends & family that would be happy to help out. 💜🙏🏽THANK YOU so much to those of you in advance that lend a helping hand. I love you all. The link is in my bio💜#gofundmemillysspinalsurgeryfund

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I managed to hit my #stepbet stretch goal today and I. Am. Feeling. It. Even when my depression was trying to get to me, I killed it in the steps department. The "bad days" are tough but I will get through them.

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It's day 13 of the December #SpreadLove17 contest! 🎉Write a post about somebody who lives far away who spreads love to you. Let's spread the love this December 💜 Remember to tag the hosts @TheUnchargeables and @spoonieessntls 🌟 so we can find your post!

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Day 9 of the #spooniechristmaschallenge ...ugh I'm so far behind, I've had some really bad flare days😞 and I''ve pushed myself really hard the past couple weeks.*Day 9: what do you need just a spoonful of? I thought what I needed most, was understanding. See most of the time no one around me knows what I'm going through. I never liked having attention on me and don't want it to look like complaining. So I often try to hide my illness. Theres some that know I have health issues but I know they dont know the extent or understand - as many have not understood the "chronic" or "lifelong" part and seem to think I'm going to wake up one day and magically be better. *The more I think about it, I've realized I'm not going to get understanding if I stay silent.What I really need is a spoonful of Courage. Courage to talk about these illnesses to others around me, which in turn could bring awareness and understanding. Courage to say no to going places/doing things when my body isn't up for it and explaining this. And courage to self advocate for myself in my healthcare - doing this has been what has made the most difference in all of this, as if I hadnt started doing this I would have given up like the doctors were telling me to and I still wouldnt have had any of the answers I have today, and knowing is half the battle!!. I still struggle with advocating though as I don't want to look like a know it all and some doctors appointments can be really discouraging!Anyway though I'd also love a big spoonful of understanding but that's all up to the other person where courage is something that can be up to me 🙃

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Latergram from the weekend, when I managed to attend the husband's workplace holiday party. I was glad for the faux fur wrap that kept me warm - and protected the neck from enthusiastic hugs! #painhack 👉🏼 Also.. for someone with neck pain, I found that tugging at the ribboned ends of the wrap was a good shoulder-external-rotation exercise, and relieved some muscle tension in the arms

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I needed a quick reminder for myself today, especially with depression trying to creep in. Hubby asked if we can still walk tonight and I said "DUH!" Here's hoping this walk will make the bad feelings go away.

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Jerry S. #ChronicPainWarrior (80 years old) experienced lower back pain after life had caught up with him. Years of playing football, lacrosse and tennis had taken its toll on his body. He ran the whole gamut on conservative therapies – physical therapy, #chiropractic therapy, and epidural injections. Finally he decided on spine surgery, which was his last resort. Unfortunately after the procedure he felt the same amount of pain. That’s when a visit with Dr. Hersel led him to the spinal cord stimulator from Nevro. After his implant, Jerry said, “Please don’t make any changes, I have no pain.” He’s happy to report that he’s 98% pain free without taking any pain medications. Jerry says “If I had to do it all over again, I’d choose the stimulator in a heartbeat.”

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Okay so the beginning of 2018 will be starting with more major spinal surgery! 😪As most of you know I had a spinal op in 2014 & have been battling with sever chronic pain for the last 6 years. Basically I have a condition called degenerative disc disease (DDD) so I pretty much have an 80yr old spine at the age of 25. My back is deteriorating verrry very fast and I’m in need of another verrryyy expensive major spinal operation. My lower vertebrae’s are now bone on bone, grinding away & has been chipped away. My discs have collapsed, herniated & bulged. So a lot is going on but something has to change as I cannot keep living like this or in this amount of pain everyday.I have found a great surgeon I connect with who is ready, willing & able to operate & help give me my life back which we booked in last week for February 2018. As my parents have already spent 10’s of thousands of dollars on surgeries, rehab etc etc, the funds are the only thing standing in my way of me regaining my functional/working life back! There is nothing I can do to contribute as I haven’t been able to work in 5 years as It’s been very disabling.My family & I would be soo incredibly grateful if you could help us in raising some money for my life changing surgery as well as sharing the link to your friends & family that would be happy to help out. 💜🙏🏽THANK YOU so much to those of you in advance that lend a helping hand. I love you all. The link is in my bio💜#gofundmemillysspinalsurgeryfund

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During this surgery recovery, laying around has been a huge part of the process, having multiple chronic illnesses (including #fibromyalgia) this is the worst thing for my body since not moving increases discomfort and pain as my body gets stiffer. When you’re used to doing multiple physical activities throughout the day; movement becomes medicine, but thankfully I’ve had my @pranamat to help ease my recovery! Since almost everyone in my family suffers from chronic illnesses, it’s a given that chronic pain follows; because of that I know EXACTLY what I’ll be gifting everyone this year. @pranamat is definitely the #bestgift for 2017 ❤️❤️ use the code “MOON10” for a discount!...Too many doggo photo bombs, wearing @aquaburns

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Ok don't get me wrong I LOVE my fitness workouts! I love the trainers, the fashion and the people busting their ass's off in the background. But when I workout my session is far from as flawless as theirs are. It starts out with my amazing team for support. Mike gives up a lil prep of what's going on and we hit play.My floor starts off super clean no toys or food in my way. I have all my weights, and other equipment (if needed) ready at hand. But as soon as I start that's when life get's REAL!I have Owen WALKING around now dragging out toys. Which of course he wants to play with at my feet. He'll walk by the door and try to open it. I have cat's going in and out. If Sammy's home battling her to put pants on since there are people watching lol. Owen will often time walk or crawl up to me move my equipment from the perfect place I had it. Or maybe he's tired and expects his personal heated bed to stop what she's doing so he can lay in her lap.But the real thing that makes my workouts NOT perfect is mwa! Yuppers IT'S ME! (ha Five Nights at Freddy's!). In case you don't know I'm a complete klutz. If there's something to trip over I'm your girl! Just like today when my toosh slipped off my ball and banged on the floor lol. But hey I got back up. Now I would have been embarrassed by this in the past since my peeps are there and I was recording. But you know what I've learned over this year? I've learned to embrace myself and that means even the klutziness! Ha! I bet Autumn couldn't have made that fall so perfect lol!I wanna know what is stopping you from embracing you join us guys! Trust me once you are apart of this accountability your lives will change!

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You know what I truly love and hate about healing / therapy? Gut-wrenching, freeing sobs and tears. Reality checks. Honest answers. Unanswered questions. Guilt. The baby steps. Did I mention the tears? The hugs. The doubt. The insecurity. The security. The revelations.

I have lost so much in so little time. Piecing these broken pieces back together is fucking hard. I'm such a worrier, a pleaser, an overthinker. It keeps me going. That's what I think. But it's tearing me down in a major way. Sometimes I have no fucking clue who I am.What I do know is that I am the backbone of my family, who are watching closely. If I don't take care of myself, find peace, find me, where will they be? Where will I? The answer is scary. This journey is scary. I had no idea how fearful I have become. I love and hate this journey so much. I love it, because I know I will be there at the end. But I hate the work getting there. It's so exhausting.I really, really need to learn how to cope, how to deal with my new normal. Today was a rough day. Therapy. My neurologist appointment was 👎👎👎👎All I want is peace and quiet until 2018. 🙏

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#truthbomb time! No matter how much time or energy you sacrifice or how much bending over backwards you do--for people who are not willing to see the effort and see the good--it will never be enough. SO...rest in the knowledge that you ARE enough and let those who will always be miserable stay that way. "You can't make everyone happy...you aren't pizza." 😉www.emilyspeaks30.comLINK IN BIO

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When I first created this group 8 months ago, in March/April I didn't realise how inspiring + uplifting it would be. I had thought for a long time about creating a group for people with similar conditions to me, for friendship, support + as a way of connecting with others who "get it" but I was really nervous + was too afraid to do it. I thought "what's the point?" "What difference can I make?" "Who would want to listen to me?" Then my doctor put me on a self management course called The Expert Patient Programme (I highly recommend, ask your doctor about it) where I met some amazing women. I had also spent a couple of months selling make up for a company who's mission was to uplift + empower women. While I didn't have it in me to continue the job itself, it boosted my confidence in part + inspired in me a passion to do what really mattered to me. Reaching out to others, particularly those struggling with physical or mental health conditions. It also reminded me of the power of social media when used in a positive way.

I took the plunge, created the group + invited the women I had met. Since then we have met up in St Paul's cafe Worthing, one Wednesday afternoon a month. We've met new people along the way, some just popping in. I've also made some amazing friendships on the Facebook + Instagram accounts for this group. Instagram in particular has become an amazing source of encouragement as I've made some wonderful friends within the community of chronic illness warriors. I've shared my experiences through my blog - chronicallyweakyetstrong.wordpress.com 😊 We also hosted a Crafternoon to raise money for Mind back in October. We have a private Facebook group where we share articles + funny things! We are also on Meetup.com + I was able to attend the mental health awareness week in Worthing where I was able to spread the word about the group. Aside from meeting up as a group locally, many of us also meet up 1:1. When I created this group, the heart of it was offering friendship + support, either in person, online or by text.

I want to thank each + every one of you for your kindness + support this year! 💛🌻💛